Artist: Lotus← See All Artists
Lotus has crafted a unique musical style outside of simple genre limitations. On a given weekend the band could be the only group with guitars at an all electronic music festival and then the next night crash a traditional rock festival with their dance heavy beats, synths and samples. Equal parts instrumental post-rock and electronic dance, the band’s distinguishing feature is the ability to maintain a decidedly unique musical voice and remain current while bucking passing trends.
Lotus’s new self-titled album (September 13, 2011/SCI Fidelity Records) moves in a decidedly more electronic direction than their previous two releases – Hammerstrike (2008) and Oil on Glass/Feather on Wood (2009). Analog synthesizers, manipulated sounds, dub effects and heavy bass are complemented by horn and string arrangements in addition to Lotus’s standard guitar/bass/drums instrumentation. Grooves move from slinky funk and gritty half-time on the first half of the album to the beautiful and expansive closing track “Orchids”. While short pieces of vocals are used throughout, the only song to feature singing is “The Surf”. The track may be the closest thing to an indie-pop song the band has released, but the melodic guitar hooks and ecstatic synth parts are pure Lotus.
Similar to their music, the recording process for the album looked in multiple directions in order to achieve a distinct style. Using traditional recording methods to track live to analog tape and then editing and mixing using modern techniques created an expanded musical space filled with uniquely crafted sounds. The band road tested and tweaked these tracks for the better part of two years. The result is an album worthy of the self-titled status – the band’s singular sound and spirit runs through every track.
THE BAND
Jesse Miller – Bass, Sampler
Luke Miller – Guitar, Keys
Mike Rempel – Guitar
Mike Greenfield – Drums
Build (2013)
With a foundation of beats evoking vinyl breaks, house, and big-beat, Lotus has crafted an album in Build (February 19, 2013 on SCI Fidelity Records) that propels through ten tracks with no wasted moments. Live drums, guitar, organ, and horns come drenched in classic analog luxuriance, but this is no retro love affair. The unmistakable sound of a tight live band is at the heart of the music, but there is no display of virtuosity. This is the sound of a band that has spent years rocking live crowds distilled to a strong studio concentrate of body-moving beats and muscular melodies.
Lotus (2011)
Lotus’ 4th full-length studio album (September 13, 2011/SCI Fidelity Records) finds the band moving in a decidedly more electronic direction, while still staying true to their organic roots. The result is an album worthy of the self-titled status – the band’s singular sound and spirit runs through all 11 road-tested tracks.
Oil on Glass/Feather on Wood (2009)
The material on both Feather on Wood and Oil on Glass can be directly traced back to Lotus’ 2008 full-length release, Hammerstrike. A number of songs were recorded that didn’t find their way onto Hammerstrike (either they hadn’t been finished by deadlines or they weren’t coalescing with the sound of that project), but after finishing the album, Lotus decided to revisit these tracks, and the results are extraordinary.
